School of Social Science
Founded in 1973, the School of Social Science is devoted to critical approaches to social research, both theoretical and empirical, and featuring multidisciplinary, multi-method, and international perspectives. Each year the School invites approximately 20 scholars working on a variety of topics to pursue their individual research within a rich context of intellectual discussion and exchange. Scholars are drawn from across the fields of social science and, occasionally, from the humanities as well.
There is an all-School weekly seminar for work-in-progress presentations, and several informal venues for sharing work and ideas. The School also hosts a theme seminar for which approximately half of the scholars are selected during the application process. The other half work on topics outside the theme and do not participate in the theme seminar.
The theme for 2025-26 is "Digital (In)Equality." For 2026-27, the theme is "Emerging Forces in Global Political Economy." An archive of past themes is available.
Notable from the School
Alondra Nelson in Daedalus on "Field Theory: AI as Social Science Question, Object & Tool"
Conference in Honor of Didier Fassin
Incoming Member Dina Okamoto elected Vice President of the American Sociological Association
Member M.J. Crockett on "Making Automation Work for Social Scientists" in Daedalus
Alondra Nelson in Science: "A civic grammar for AI rights"
Member Corey Robin on Capitalism's Long Revolution in The Nation
"The civil-rights activists planned to change the world, not just the country," writes past Member Keisha Blain in The Economist
Past Members Sophia Rosenfeld and Paul Starr elected to American Philosophical Society
Former Member Martin Gilens elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Former Members Anna Tsing, George Marcus, Michael Brown, and Chantal Mouffe elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Member Annelise Riles in the Chicago Tribune: "Here's how we can defund the bomb"
Member Shobita Parthasarathy in Science: "'Sacrifice subjects' and a proposal for people-first technology regulation"
Digital (In)Equality Collaborative Theme Seminar featured in The Institute Letter
Member Molly J. Crockett Receives 2026 Troland Research Award from National Academy of Sciences
New paper on "Venture Capital as Male-Lens Investing" from IAS Member Judy Wajcman and coauthors in the Cambridge Journal of Economics
Joan Scott in The Chronicle of Higher Education: "Project 2025’s Quiet Weapon Against Universities"
"One Person, One Vote? The Gap between Representative Equity and Mathematical Equality after Baker v. Carr" published by Member Alma Steingart in the Journal of American History